Category Archives: Entertainment

Spain Visual Launches New Version Of Its Tourism Website And The New Advertising Campaign…

www.spainvisual.com launches new version of its portal with major graphical enhancements, content and navigability.

“Spain Visual”, tourism portal located in Barcelona, has incorporated into this new version links to blogs and social networks and Web 2.0 start. It also has added a new destination Asturias, being under preparation on Galicia and Castilla Leon.

Video contents have been hosted on a dedicated server in the U.S. of the renowned company specializing in network video Sorensonmedia to offer streaming video in a professional manner.

It also has integrated into the portal advertising banners AffiliateFuture that guarantee the best deals in the sector.

His slogan “Look, find & booking” sums up the philosophy of the portal, a tool to explore the core values of a destination from your PC, Iphone or mobile and be able to choose the more attractive, making available to the navigator also all tools necessary to book everything you need at competitive prices.

Company sources indicate that short-term goals are, on one side complete the presentation of the few brands and other tourist missing translation from Russian and Chinese portal at the time it is possible to boost the brand in Spain these markets in future.

As for other improvements, try to integrate into each brand booking engines presented the specific destination of the hotel association to help improve the margins of the sector.

With this platform “Spain Visual” hopes to bring added value and efficiency to promote the network of the Spanish tourist industry.

Contact Details: http://www.spainvisual.com
Arian Pombo
618334524

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Uncommon Sense Story Motivates Readers to Change Their Lives

Turner offers a look at what we need to do to truly change our lives and how to accomplish our goals. He now shares these lessons and strategies he learned creating a multi-million dollar professional development company that teaches other businesses how to achieve corporate growth.

Valley View, OH, Wednesday – September 28, 2011 — “If you’re not growing, you’re going.”

This is the mantra of Darryl Turner, author of Uncommon $ense, a story about the human struggle with change. Turner said his main character, “Charlie,” is on the brink of failure, but instead becomes successful when he accepts the mentoring of a younger co-worker. The author, an international motivational speaker, sales trainer, and CEO of The Darryl Turner Corporation, said the book was “inspired by the thousands of Charlies my team and I have had the privilege to help over the last two decades.”

“My book is on how we struggle to deal with and process change. It’s a confidential personal struggle,” Turner said. “The topic for the book comes from personal experience,” he said.

“I wrote about what I know and what I help people overcome everyday.”

Turner offers a look at what we need to do to truly change our lives and how to accomplish our goals. He now shares these lessons and strategies he learned creating a multi-million dollar professional development company that teaches other businesses how to achieve corporate growth.

“The goal is to inspire people emotionally to take steps they would not normally take,” Turner said. “Adapting to a model not of your own is tough.” Uncommon $ense is about what people go through, Turner explained. “It’s a 100 percent real life accurate story. People can relate to the characters.” And when they have finished Uncommon $ense, the author said, readers will have a “significant call to action.”

“Don’t settle for common sense and average results,” Turner said, “set your sights much higher. Set them toward acquiring Uncommon $ense.”

Turner said he gained inspiration to write the book from his Christian faith and pastor Glen Berteau, who penned the forward for Uncommon $ense. The author and his wife of 29 years, Darlene, have four children ages 26, 20, 18 and 5. He has published numerous business related articles.

To order Turner’s new book, visit http://www.halopublishing.com. For information about the author, visit http://www.DarrylTurnerSeminars.com or http://www.DarrylTurnerCorp.com. His podcasts are available on iTunes.

Press & Media Contact:
Lisa M. Umina, Publisher
Halo Publishing International
5549 Canal Road
Valley View, OH 44125
877-705-9647
lisa@halopublishing.com

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make-me-beautiful.co.uk reviews trends at London Fashion Week

26th September 2011 London, UK – London Fashion Week has hardly had time to get out of it’s high heels and massage it’s sore feet yet already journalists are waxing lyrical about this season’s trends. Award winning clip on earring specialist jewellers,www.make-me-beautiful.co.uk, were at Somerset House to meet colleagues, be wowed by suppliers and to survey the latest trends. Make Me Beautiful founder, Misae Richwoods, outlined three key trends in accessories for S/S12:

1. Get Feminine – With Bora Aksu, Jena Theo and Emilia Wickstead exhibiting bare-breasted models on the first day’s catwalk’s alone, London Fashion Week S/S12 steps away from it’s recent flirtation with androgyny to re-declare a passionate love affair with the female form. Think elegant curves and shapes, daintily finishing often with a subversive or slightly sinister twist adding a bit of playful cheekiness.

2. Geometrics Make a Statement – Powerful Aztec shapes with angular cuts and asymmetrical finishes make the season’s statement wear as Holly Fulton, Jaeger London and Sass and Bide all bounced the house in bold numbers. Brilliant Swarovski crystals, oversized pearls and multi-textural bodywork provide perfect staging and emphasis with sharp colours and spiky shapes that flashback the 80s

3. Keep it Natural – With florals (Erdem, Christopher Kane and Ashish) and animal prints (House of Holland) making their way onto the catwalk a range of decorative reminiscence backs it up with Cabinet including antlers, Renaissance featuring deers, Mawi showing their Minnie Mawi collaboration with Disney Couture and Les Néréides showing a whole arc full of cute characters and cheerful flowers.

Fashion156 Magazine tweeted afterwards, “LFW is so strong this season. Reminds me of McQueen’s LFW era when you walked out of his shows feeling you could bounce over a skyscraper.” Make Me Beautiful announce they will feature a curated collection of some of the most desirable and wearable pieces from some of the brightest designers as they increase choice in their specialist clip on earring collection. Look out for new designer partnerships being announced from late Autumn or follow Minxy’s Jewellery on Facebook or Twitter.

About Make Me Beautiful
Make Me Beautiful was the first site that made clip on earrings sexy and stylish again. Whilst other sites focus on peddling Pat Butcher’s left overs, Make Me Beautiful curates a fashion forward collection of the best of Britain’s talent with over 1,000 lines from leading designers all in clip on, screw on, spring loaded or other non-pierced designs. Make Me Beautiful serves customers in over 30 nations and three languages via it’s online web store at www.make-me-beautiful.co.uk together with partner sites from it’s headquarters in Wimbledon, London and customer service centre in Florida, USA. Make Me Beautiful is a trading name of Rising Dragon Enterprises Ltd.

Media Contact:
Misae Richwoods
UK 0208 123 9800 | USA 646 736 7768
press@make-me-beautiful.co.uk
www.make-me-beautiful.co.uk

 

Phoenix Actor & Advocate Tank Jones Stars in Avatar’s Brand New “Stitched” Comic Book Series

Film star, advocate and vocalist Tank Jones, who played the irrepressible Walter Pruitt in the short thriller, Stitched, now lends his character to Avatar’s adapted comic books series by the same name.

Phoenix, AZ, Thursday – September 22, 2011 — Film star, advocate and vocalist Tank Jones, who played the irrepressible Walter Pruitt in the short thriller, Stitched, now lends his character to Avatar’s adapted comic books series by the same name. The first edition is scheduled for release this November.

Jones, who commutes between bases in Los Angeles and Phoenix, said, “I’m thrilled. I’ve been told I’ve achieved the ‘coolest Dad around’ status,” said Jones. “Who doesn’t want to be immortalized as comic book hero?”

A working film and television actor since 1996, Jones starred alongside Hollywood royalty the likes of George Clooney, in Three Kings. Other high profile projects include Any Given Sunday, Breaking Bad, Invasion, and the popular CSI series.

In Stitched, the fifteen-minute short thriller written by the acclaimed Garth Ennis, Jones guides co-stars Lauren Alonzo and Kate Kugler to safety after a helicopter crash in the Afghanistan mountainside. Pruitt must navigate the blistering terrain in the epicenter of Taliban-controlled territory. Bracing against hunger, thirst and injury, Pruitt refuses to give in and perseveres.

“Tank gave a terrific audition; it was obvious he instantly understood the character of Walter Pruitt. Working with him was tremendous- he delivered on every level, and I’d work with him again in a second,” said Ennis.

Things take a horrific turn when trio encounters something worse than enemy fighters – an ancient supernatural power known as, The Stitched. Blood thirsting, relentless and serving a twenty-first century evil, the predators inhabit the dead and stop at nothing to destroy their prey from stem to stern, literally.

The Stitched comic book series launches with a #1 issue authored by Ennis, adapted form his original screenplay. Mike Wolfer embodies Ennis’ story with gruesome imagery, and will continue to contribute to both scripting and artwork after the 6th edition. Stitched #1 is recommended for mature audiences for violence and strong language.

“It’s true, Pruitt’s a noble soldier who encounters an evil many are never subjected to,” said Jones. “But he’s motivated by his certainty that they will get home; they’re going to survive, even if the Calvary never comes.”

That same message resonated with Jones, himself a passionate advocate for making positive choices in the midst of adversity. In 2003, Jones founded a non-profit 501© 3 he named, Choices. “We want to convey to kids of every age is that they can practice integrity n their lives,” said Jones.

“We use the ‘K’ purposely, to convey our belief that while no one is perfect, each person has the ability to make good choices.” He often travels to Phoenix to speak to kids about issues such as peer pressure, respect and work ethic, working with school districts including Kyrene, Chandler and Tolleson.

Learn more about Choices online at http://www.ItsYourChoices.org

Jones has steadily earned household recognition of his unusual nickname – given when he was 2 – but not always for the reasons he’d prefer. Tank Jones is also the name of Levi Johnston’s (of Palin family folklore) former bodyguard. “I get all sorts of calls from publications like the Enquirer. But I’m not the same guy!”

Learn more about Tank Jones online at http://www.tankjones.com

Jones is anticipating the return of his character, Walter Pruitt, in Avatar Press’ new publication. Plans are in place to produce a full-length film version of Garth Ennis’ Stitched, due for release in 2013.

About Stitched:
The STITCHED short film is a joint venture of Avatar Press, Spitfire Productions Ltd., and Mischief Maker Studios. For more information on the STITCHED DVD release and comic book series, please visit the website http://www.FearTheStitched.com.

Press & Media Contact:
Scott Kelly
Black Dog Promotions
9920 S. Rural Rd., Ste 108
Tempe AZ, 85284 – USA
480-206-3435
scott@blackdogpromotions.com
http://www.blackdogpromotions.com

Report: 45% of online casino and gambling sites hold operating licenses not issued within the UK’s ‘whitelisted’ jurisdictions

London, UK, September 20, 2011 — With players creating around 5 million new casino and online gambling accounts each year, the public remain unaware of risks associated with insufficient licensing and regulation.

The UK Gambling Commission maintains a ‘whitelist’ of countries which provide satisfactory regulation for online gaming licenses. If a casino does not have a license from one of these whitelisted jurisdictions then it is not allowed to advertise within the UK – but that does not prevent UK citizens from finding and joining these potentially risky sites.

Over 1,100 online gaming sites operate with licenses issued by whitelisted jurisdictions. This includes licenses from locations such as Gibraltar, Malta and Alderney, all of which the UK Gambling Commission considers to have sufficient regulation for player protection.

Over 900 casino and wagering sites, around 45% of the total, continue to hold licenses issued outside of the safe jurisdictions whitelisted by the Commission. These jurisdictions tend to have insufficient regulation, and lack satisfactory methods for mediation and resolution of players’ problems. Countless gambling sites are also operating with absolutely no license and a complete lack of regulation.

One newly launched website – www.Top20CasinoReviews.co.uk – aims to help UK players discover the safest online gaming sites.

“People usually have no idea if a casino has a license from a country approved by the UK Gambling Commission,” said Philip Jones, manager of Top 20 Casino Reviews UK. “With literally thousands of casino websites available to UK players, the new resource is dedicated to providing players with only the most reliable licensed casino information.”

The new site also allows players to view the top casinos in a variety of categories including casinos for mobile phones, sites offering live dealers via online video, and casinos accepting popular payment options such as PayPal and Ukash.

In addition to reviewing licensed casinos, the parent site at www.UKZap.com provides a full range of bingo, poker and sports betting reviews, as well as the Lucky Friends social site offering member prizes and free advice for players.

For additional information contact Philip Jones or visit www.UKZap.com

About UKZap.com :
UKZap.com is committed to providing the UK public with trustworthy online gaming information and resources. An important part of that commitment is conducting checks of proper licensing held by each gaming site as well as reviewing customer support and overall satisfaction of members. In this way UKZap.com assists UK players in discovering the most reliable casinos and wagering sites.

Contact:
Philip Jones, manager
UKZap.com
0844-588-5551
press@ukzap.com
http://www.Top20CasinoReviews.co.uk

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MusiCHI Suite: The New Music Software Manager And Player Dedicated To Classical, Jazz Or Other More Demanding Genre Of Music Is Now Available

MusiCHI Suite is the first integrated computer software application to manage your music files, completely dedicated to classical, jazz or other more demanding genre of music. It is the only digital music suite where the user can actually play and organize his music in an intelligent way, allowing him to change the order and number of columns on the screen and find his tracks in the most flexible manner. MusiCHI Suite includes 4 applications (Player, Ripper, Tagger, Library Manager), each optimized for their task, where newly introduced fields, such as Instruments, Composition, Period, Performers, Style, relevant to music classification can be utilized. Unlike other programs, in theMusiCHI Suite any field, any data, you see on screen is written inside the audio files , therefore, reducing the importance of the library, which becomes just the temporarily catalog of the files’ metadata, used only for fast and flexible searches. Bringing back the focus to the music files themselves and freeing you from any proprietary software library database.

Furthermore, we use a database engine that allows virtually unlimited size of libraries. MusiCHI Suite is a multi – library system , allowing for one more level of grouping, for example Classical, Jazz, World Music, etc. According to the library, the user interface, audio tracks data and tagging pick lists can change, since different styles of music have different logic and personalities: with classical music Composer/Composition is more valuable information than Artist/Album, for example.

The Suite is equipped with a complete reference database (MusiCHI Clean ©®) for classical music, where more than 5000 entries (composers, performers, orchestras, etc.) have been properly corrected and normalized with full respect of their local spelling (umlaut, accents etc.), i.e. the program is fully Unicode compliant. Furthermore, it has a composition engine search covering for the moment the integrated music collection of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Vivaldi. The composition engine search will soon be completed with the compositions of other famous composers.

MusiCHI Suite Version 2.1 comes with step by step tutorials and help files leading the user to learn the program and its powerful features quickly and easily. In Version 2.1, new capabilities have been added such as the possibility to play music files without them being part of a music library, the possibility to see the album/compositions covers in a graphical carousel view, the possibility to change the fonts sizes so that the user can play with the software remotely from his couch, the possibility to extract the content of the music library for printing via a spreadsheet. Furthermore, the player can read directly the CD booklet (in pdf format) with a single click, can browse any relevant internet pages linked to a track (Wikipedia etc.), potentially transforming the application to be a front-end to a music knowledge based system. Via the Windows clipboard, the Ripper can use, for its metadata, pretty much any source coming from the WEB or other documents. The playlists are now compatible with the m3u and m3u8 formats. In order to explore the numerous capabilities of the software, you can download from http://www.musichi.eu/index.php/en/downloaddemo, the free trial version (the full featured program with a limited activation time). We have also, included a demo librarywith prepared musical clips (courtesy of Hyperion Records), that can show how classical music can be tagged, “the MusiCHI way”. With these files you can experiment with the other tools of the Suite, especially our tag editor that is considered undoubtedly one of the best (if not the best) of its kind.

MusiCHI Suite Version 2.1 can play FLAC files up to 24 bits/ 385.2 KHZ, and offers additional support for MP3, MP4, APE, WMA and M4A. As we do not offer volume adjustment within the player, we do not add any digital distortion. MusiCHI Suite is ASIO Drivers compatible, including ASIO4ALL, allowing to by-pass the video sound mixer of Windows and achieving bit perfect digital output (we have passed bit transparency tests with a Weiss DAC202). MusiCHI Suite is designed to run on Microsoft Windows (XP, Vista or 7).

MusiCHI Suite is available in 3 versions: MusiCHI Studio (launching price 39 euros, approx. 54 US$) which includes the 4 applications (Player, Ripper, Tagger, Library Manager), MusiCHI Portable (launching price 19 euros, approx. 26 US$) a unique application that allows the user to transport and play all his digital music library on any other PC without any further configuration than plug a USB drive and MusiCHI Ultimo(launching price 49 euros, approx. 68 US$) which apart from the 4 applications, includes also the Portable Edition.

MusiCHI Suite is available through the website address: www.musichi.eu.

Contact details:
Myrto Skotida, T. +306974417252, m.skotida@musichi.eu

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Blue Mustang Press Publishes Robin Stratton’s Novel “On Air”

Boston writer Robin Stratton pens a story of questioning, living, dying, and even 9/11 in this look back on the life of someone who lived and breathed that most visual medium: radio.

Boston, MA, Friday – September 16, 2011 — Blue Mustang Press is pleased to announce Robin Stratton’s much anticipated new novel, “On Air” ($14.95 178 pp), is now widely available. During the 1980s protagonist Eric Storm was Boston’s hottest radio personality. But it’s 2001 and Eric is a full-grown beagle heavier, divorced, and out of work. Complicating matters is Eric’s mother. She’s getting older and a sudden turn of bad health frightens the unprepared and out of work DJ. Eric’s whole world is turned on end when Ma’s diary reveals a shocking truth about a life Eric thought he had all the answers for.

Stratton’s story deftly resonates with those approaching 50 years of age and who may suddenly find themselves re-examining their lives, their worth and the role friends and family play when faced when life throws them curveball after curveball. Woven into this poignant and touchingly humorous story is the city of Boston and how its community dealt with the questions and doubts raised by 9-11. Stratton skillfully challenges each of us to ask ourselves, “What really matters…and what are we doing about it?”

Robin Stratton is a writing coach in the Boston area, director of the The Newton Writers and Poets Center, editor of “Boston Literary Magazine”, and author of “Dealing With Men, Interference from an Unwitting Species & Other Poems”, and “The Revision Process – A Guide for Those Weeks, Months or Years Between Your First Draft and Your Last”. Her fiction has appeared in “Word Riot”, “Poor Richard’s Almanac(k)”, “Antithesis Common”, “Chick Flicks”, “63 Channels”, “Blink-Ink”, “Pig in a Poke”, “Shoots and Vines” and many others.

ISBN: 978-1-935199-11-3
178 Pages — $14.95 – Trade Paperback
Blue Mustang Press – http://www.bluemustangpress.com

Press & Media Contact:
Karen Savageau
Blue Mustang Press LLP
PO Box 582
Mansfield, MA 02048 – USA
info@BlueMustangPress.com
http://www.BlueMustangPress.com

Money Off Family Nights and Days Out with Latest DiscountVouchers.co.uk Deals

14 September 2011 – Fun family evenings and days out at theme parks and cinemas are now more affordable thanks to new deals introduced online by retail codes site DiscountVouchers.co.uk. With parents needing to make the most of a household budget when entertaining the kids this autumn, the website has launched new discount voucher codes for Chessington World of Adventures and Cineworld.

Top theme park Chessington World of Adventures is available on a budget right now thanks to the latest deals introduced on DiscountVouchers.co.uk. By logging on to the popular website this week consumers can access and use new Chessington World of Adventures vouchers to get themselves deals including ‘save up to 25% when you book online’ and also ‘save 40% on group tickets for the amusement park’.

Money off at your local movie theatre is possible this autumn thanks to the new DiscountVouchers.co.uk deals, allowing all the family to take in a film. Mums and dads can make the most of a household budget right now thanks to new Cineworld vouchersincluding ‘Don’t miss a flick with the Cineworld unlimited card’ and ‘Get 2 for 1 Cineworld tickets through Orange’.

Doug Scott, managing director at DiscountVouchers.co.uk, comments, “There is never a bad time to save money when keeping the kids entertained, and this autumn we can really help people to save. Famous name theme parks and savings at cinemas are available thanks to the latest deals we have introduced this week.”

DiscountVouchers.co.uk offers consumers money saving deals at major high street brands and specialist retailers, including stores like Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Travelodge, First Choice, lastminute.com and Boden.

For more information visit www.discountvouchers.co.uk
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About DiscountVouchers.co.uk
DiscountVouchers.co.uk features the latest money saving offers from a growing range of retailers, all updated in real time. Designed to help consumers save money with both leading high street brands and specialist retailers, DiscountVouchers.co.uk offers one of the widest choices of discounts available.

Part of ASAP Ventures Ltd, the company behind the award winning Carrentals.co.uk price comparison site, DiscountVouchers.co.uk is committed to offering a growing range of the best savings available online.

Media Contact
Doug Scott
press@discountvouchers.co.uk
DiscountVouchers.co.uk (Asap Ventures)
www.discountvouchers.co.uk
0845 871 2069

 

New Book on C&O Canal During the Civil War is Now Available from Blue Mustang Press

Maryland resident Timothy R. Snyder has penned Trembling in the Balance: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal During the Civil War and brings to light the perilous “life” of the canal during the upheaval of the American Civil War for which it marked the border between North and South.

Boston, MA, Tuesday – September 13, 2011 — Blue Mustang Press ( http://www.BlueMustangPress.com ) is proud to publish Timothy R. Snyder’s new book Trembling in the Balance: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal During the Civil War. Snyder’s lavishly illustrated book tells the story of a canal company’s struggle to operate a significant business enterprise in one of the nation’s major theaters of war: the actual border between the Union and the Confederacy.

Since the C&O Canal company was located on Maryland’s southern border with Virginia, it experienced much of the war firsthand. Due to the proximity of the canal to so many conflicts, large and small, the book includes a great deal of military history in great detail. The canal played a role in major battles, like Antietam and Gettysburg, and in smaller conflicts, such as Ball’s Bluff and Stonewall Jackson’s raids on Dam Number 5 (the dam was owned by the canal company).

Snyder’s work is a fascinating account of this transportation artery during a time of great military upheaval. Research for the book was conducted using primary sources, including the diaries and letters of soldiers, politicians and local residents; canal company records; and period newspapers.

For Snyder, born and raised in Williamsport, Maryland-the traditional mid-point of the Canal-this book is the culmination of over ten years of research and writing that began as the author’s M.A. thesis. Snyder notes that while there have been books and articles written on the railroads during the Civil War, until now very little has been written about the role played by canals. The Canal helped sustain the Union war effort, much like its old rival, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, although its contributions have largely been overlooked by historians until now.

Ted Alexander, Chief Historian at Antietam National Battlefield, has said of Trembling in the Balance: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal During the Civil War, “The C&O Canal was a major artery for shipping coal to the east during the Civil War era. This made it a target of every major Confederate incursion north of the Potomac and of numerous smaller guerilla raids. Tim Snyder’s Trembling in the Balance: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal during the Civil War is the definitive work on the subject by its leading authority. This book should be required reading for all students of the Civil War in the Eastern Theater.”

The book is available through retail book outlets, NPS bookstores along the Canal, and through the publisher’s website at: http://www.BlueMustangPress.com.

ISBN: 978-1935199120
364 pages
Retail Price: $22.95
Available to the trade from major book distributors

Press & Media Contact:
Karen Savageau
Blue Mustang Press LLP
PO Box 582
Mansfield, MA 02048 – USA
info@BlueMustangPress.com
http://www.BlueMustangPress.com

Amy Winehouse’s “Personal Painter” Releases Art I Love

Book includes Sam Shaker’s work along with instruction for developing artists.

United States and London, Thursday – September 08, 2011 — Artist, jazz club owner, and celebrity confidant Sam Shaker’s first book, Art I Love, is a rarity in its category – an art book that tells a readable, engaging story.

Part autobiography, part instructional guide, and part historical account, Art I Love (2012, Hola Publishing International, an Imprint of Halo Publishing International), chronicles Shaker’s development from Parisian street artist to recognition as Europe’s premier creator of commissioned celebrity portraits. His subjects have included the late Amy Winehouse (who called Shaker her “second dad”), actor Kevin Spacey, singer/songwriter Adele, and model Kate Moss.

Shaker describes Art I Love as, “approachable for newbies, academic enough for students, and serious enough for history buffs interested in the cultures of Paris and Spain and how these cultures were influenced by artists of various periods.”

Art I Love is the product of decades of diligent work and the culmination of an improbable journey to professional recognition. A self-described “huge Picasso fan,” Shaker studied art and graphic design at the Leonard da Vinci Academy, and was awarded a diploma in Fine Arts. Soon after, he left his native Cairo for Paris to pursue a career as an artist. After years of sporadic success – and nearly starving to death – he left art behind, albeit temporarily, to launch and operate Jazz After Dark, which would eventually become a successful music club in London’s Soho district.

It was at Jazz After Dark that an encounter with Kate Moss spurred Shaker to create again. She commissioned him to paint her portrait, the London media took notice, and Shaker had quickly established his reputation as a specialist in celebrity portraits. Many of these works are reproduced in Art I Love.

Shaker met Amy Winehouse long before the singer achieved international superstardom. “She came to my club, and the admission charge was £3. She said she didn’t have £3, so I told her she could pay me next time,” he recalls. The unlikely friendship blossomed in the years that followed. “She was creative, kind, talented and a very genuine person. She loved art, music, and writing. She never forgot her friends and people like me who gave her a helping hand in her career. She was very loyal to me and never commissioned any other artist to paint her portrait.”

Art I Love also offers a wealth of practical instruction for art students. Techniques, based on Shaker’s own learning experiences, are provided in regard to planning a painting, selecting appropriate materials, working from live subjects versus working from photos, and addressing the nuances in skin tones, shading, facial proportions and similar challenges encountered by the developing artist.

About Sam Shaker
Sam Shaker was born in Cairo, Egypt and studied art at the Leonard da Vinci Academy. The father of three grown children, he owns and operates Jazz After Dark, a popular London music club and art gallery.

A prolific portrait painter, Shaker’s recent subjects have included Prince William and Kate Middleton, The Beatles, Kate Moss, Kevin Spacey, Pete Doherty, Adele, Mark Ronson and many others.

About Hola Publishing International:
Since 2002, Halo Publishing International (HPI) has produced more than 200 titles in adult fiction and non-fiction, children’s, inspirational, sports and recreation, and other categories. Hola Publishing International is Halo’s imprint company.

Visit http://www.halopublishing.com for details.

Press & Media Contact:
Lisa Umina
Halo Publishing International
P.O. Box 60326, AP #726
Houston, TX 77205
(216) 255-6756
Lisa@HaloPublishing.com

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